The present invention relates to the diagnostic imaging arts. It has particular application in conjunction with wireless communication in a magnetic resonance setting and will be described with particular reference thereto. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to other modalities including, but not limited to, CT, SPECT, and PET.
Magnetic resonance (MR) imagers generate high magnetic fields through an imaging region. A typical by-product of the production of this field is a magnetic fringe field that can extend several meters beyond the physical apparatus. Although the excitation fields are high, the induced resonance signals are weak comparable with ambient television and radio signals. In order to minimize disruption to and interference from the surroundings in an environment such as a hospital or clinic, the magnets are often built within specially shielded suites to prevent the fringe field from affecting surrounding objects or people.
As a result, control hardware components for an MR apparatus are placed outside the shielded room. When controlling the apparatus and recalling images, the operator is outside the suite at the control station. This typically leaves the patient unattended during the scan. In many patients, being alone and in such a constricted area such as the bore of an MR device can cause increased anxiety and restlessness, ultimately degrading image quality.
Typically, power and control cables are fed into the MR imaging suite. Cables typically present a problem in that they can introduce radio frequency (RF) disturbances into the imaging volume and receive ambient RF signals. Ultimately, these RF disturbances manifest as imaging artifacts in final images. Typically, these cables are heavily shielded to prevent interference with radio frequency fields produced by the MR device, and vice versa, to prevent the RF fields from corrupting information fed through the cables. As a result of shielding, these cables become quite bulky, and present obstacles within the MR suite. This can restrict access to the MR device from wheelchairs, gurneys, walkers, or other mobility limited patients, as well as lessen mobility of the operator, or other support staff about the device.
A further disadvantage of cables in the MR suite is that detuning of the coils is possible. RF receive coils become less sensitive to the resonance frequency, thereby decreasing the signal to noise ratio. In addition, cables can focus RF power onto small portions of the patient, posing potential health hazards.
The present invention provides a new and improved method and apparatus which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.